Heather: The Princess of Shadows
by AcjmonkeyAJ
Summary: Ash, Scarlet, and Serena are the lowest ranking people in the school. They wish they could turn their life around, but it seems hopeless. Then a mysterious girl arrives in town. Who she is and where she is from, are being kept secret. They feel some kind of connection around her. Just who is she? Is she the key to ending their life of pain?
1. Heather's Pain

Nighttime had come. The sky was black for miles. The stars dotted the blackened sky like diamonds. The moon's silver and pale glow illuminated the forest. Providing some light. Not a creature stirred. All of the pokemon that lived in the forest were asleep. Then all of a sudden there was simultaneous thudding sound. An Eevee and its family of evolutions heard the thudding sound and the looked down from their tree to see where the sound was coming from. They then heard a panting sound along with the thudding sound as it got closer. Then a girl with black hair came into view. The Eevee saw that she was running, but it couldn't tell what she was running from. When the girl was a few feet away from the tree, she stopped running. But as soon as she did, she collapsed. The Eevee and its family all gasped in shock when the girl collapsed. They climbed down from their tree. When they ran up to the girl, they saw she had scars and bruises all over her. Eevee then heard the girl's thoughts. _I can't keep running like this. I'll suffer from a heart attack if I continue to run, but I'll be captured if I stay here. What will I do? _Eevee walked up to the girl and nudged her. She awakened to see the Eevee. The girl said, "Oh hello there." The girl's necklace allowed her to understand the Eevee. The Eevee replied, "What happened to you?" The girl responded, "I will explain everything to you all later, but I need to hide before they find me." Sylveon suggested, "Hide in our tree. You'll be safe there. We'll keep watch for you." The other evolutions of Eevee agreed. She climbed up the tree and hid within the leaves.

A few minutes later, a man and his sons ran into the area. They searched all over the place for her, but didn't find her. They still looked for her and the Eevee communicated it's thoughts to her saying, _Why are they still searching? _The girl responded, _They won't give up until they find me, but I'll be honest I kinda want them to find me. On the other hand, I don't. _She decided to make sure the would give up. She created an illusion of herself after she suffered a heart attack. While she herself hadn't really suffered a heart attack. She based the illusion off that scenario. When the man and his sons saw her body, they ran over to her. They saw she was motionless and not breathing. Josh said, "Looks like she suffered a heart attack while she was running from us." Mr. Jay replied, "That's a shame. I liked her a lot." Jayson added, "Yeah she was so kind to us, she cared for us, she helped us, and she saved us multiple times. But how did we repay her for her kindness, we hurt and abused her. I feel like a fool." Mr. Jay responded, "There's nothing we can do about it now. Heather is gone. Let's just go home." They went back deeper into the forest, but Josh looked towards her hiding place. He smiled to her then walked away.

Heather jumped down from the tree and she winced from her pain. The Eevee and its family saw chains on her and they were shocked. The Eevee asked, "What happened to you Heather?" Heather answered, "When I was young, I was surrounded by the love of my good friends and my family. I had everything I could ever hope for, but then that all changed. One night after a day at a water park, I was kidnapped by three grown men. I remember blacking out, but everything else is just a blurr. When I woke up, I found myself in a different location and I was bound in these chains. The leader of my captors put a spell over my chains and only the special key he had could unlock them. I became their bound servant. They forced me to do everything for them. And if I did something wrong, I would be severely punished. One day, Mr. Jay and his sons dropped by. I guess they had seen how I was being treated because Mr. Jay bought me from them. I served them for awhile, but I received similar treatment. It wasn't as bad, but it still hurt. Josh was the only one who was nice to me. I tried forever to return to my home and to my childhood friends, but I couldn't escape. Then Mr. Jay told me that he was planning to adopt me into his family, but it didn't work out that way. Josh told me to leave and I'll admit that I was hesitant to leave. I left anyway, but for a different reason. I wanted to give myself sometime away where I can be free and figure some things out."

After Heather told them her story, she got to her feet. Heather said, "I need to move on now, but thank you for everything. I'm truly in your debt. Allow me to give you something." She pulled out a necklace. She put around Eevee's neck and continued, "This necklace will allow you to speak to humans. My parents gave it to me. Now I want to give it to you." The Eevee hugged her and with that she left heading for town. Heather was hoping to start a better life so she could return to Mr. Jay with more energy and spirit. And that was what she was going to do.


	2. New Hope

Heather arrived in town late that afternoon. She looked around and she began to wonder where she was going to be staying. She began wandering around the town with this on her mind. Heather had put cloak over herself and put the hood over her head. She didn't want anyone to see her chains or her injuries. She continued walking until she bumped into someone. The girl she bumped into recovered quickly and turned to Heather. She said, "Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!" Heather replied, "I'm fine." The girl responded, "Here let me help you up." She bent down and help Heather to stand up. Heather staggered bit due to her injuries, but she quickly regained her balance. The girl continued, "I'm so sorry I should've been watching where I was going." Heather commented, "It's okay. I'm fine now. Anyway could you tell me where I am?" The girl explained, "You're in Lumiose Town. We're on the outskirts of Lumiose City." Heather flinched showing that she was shocked. In her head she said, _This… This is my home town. I lived here before I was kidnapped. In all my years of living in captivity, I never thought I would make it back here. I wonder if all of my childhood friends are still here. _Heather asked, "I see. Could I have your name please?" The girl answered, "Oh sure! I'm Serena." Heather gasped in shock. She looked at Serena and she saw it was indeed her childhood friend standing in front of her. Again in her head she said,_ Serena! After so long, I thought I'd never see you again! __I can't believe I'm standing right in front of you. I missed you so much!_ Tears of joy streamed down Heather's face. Serena asked, "Are you okay?" Heather contended, "I'm fine Serena. Just having a flashback that all."

Serena said, "Well can you tell me your name? And do you need some place to stay?" Heather replied, "If it's okay with you, I'd like to keep my name a secret. I don't really trust people, but when I'm ready I'll tell you. And I actually could use a place to stay. I don't really have any place to go." Serena responded, "I understand. Come on you can stay at my house." Heather went with Serena to her house. She showed her to her room when they got there. Serena asked, "Do you need me to get you anything?" Heather answered, "If you have a nurse, could you send her up to me? And I could use some new clothes." Serena nodded, "Okay I'll get those for you." Serena brought her new clothes and to Heather's pleasure, they were black." Then the nurse came in and said, "Miss Serena told me that you needed me, so what seems to be the trouble?" Heather, while taking her cloak off, explained, "I have some scars and bruises that need to be treated. And I also need medicine to prevent any infections." The nurse cried out, "Oh my goodness! I'll have this done for you right away." The nurse got to work and treated her scars and bruises. She also gave her medicine that would prevent her from having infections. When the nurse was done, she responded, "There I'll come back up here and reapply the treatment so your scars will heal properly." Heather nodded in understanding. The nursed asked, "By the way, can I have your name?" Heather answered, "I'm Heather." The nurse gasped, "Wait are you the childhood friend of Serena's that disappeared a long time ago?" Heather nodded and pleaded, "Please don't tell Serena yet. I need confirmation that all of my friends are still here. It's been so long. I'm planning on telling them when my birthday comes around. I'm sure they still remember it. In fact, it's only a week away." The nurse agreed not to tell Serena about the identity of her guest.

Heather changed out of her torn clothes using magic and put on her new clothes with the same magic. It was hard for her to change out of her clothes with the chains on her wrists and ankles. She laid down on the bed. She said to her self, "Wow this bed is surprisingly comfortable. Or maybe, I've just gotten used to sleeping on a concrete floor and a really hard basement bed." She heard footsteps and she quickly put her cloak on and put the hood over her head. Serena came in and announced, "I've got you some dinner." Heather replied, "Oh wow! Thanks Serena." Serena explained, "The nurse told me about your condition. The scars and bruises. She also told me that you were underweight, so I made dinner for you." Heather looked at Serena she responded, "Serena, I don't deserve all of this kindness. You've only just met me. How can you just trust someone so quickly to treat them well?" Serena continued, "I feel connected to you some how. Like I've just met you before. It makes me feel like I need to help you in any way I can." Heather, who was in tears, embraced Serena. She cried, "Thank you so much, Serena." Serena felt something cold touch her skin, but she paid no attention to it. Then when they separated from their embrace, Heather saw the her chains left marks on her skin. At first, she felt bad about in. Then she realized they would soon go away. Serena left her alone and Heather began to eat. When she was finished, Serena came back into the room to get the dirty dishes. Serena said, "Hey, I wanted to tell you that I'm enrolling you into the school I go to. Don't worry about paying for it. I've taken care of that, but the problem is you need to sign some forms. So tomorrow we're going to my school so you can sign the forms." Heather agreed to go and when Serena left the room, she took of her cloak.

Heather fell asleep. She smiled for the first time in her life. Then she woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and energized. The nurse came in and tended to her wounds. Then Serena walked in with breakfast and some new clothes. Heather ate her breakfast and changed her clothes with magic. Then she took her braid down and brushed her hair. Then she re-braided her hair into a french braid. Heather walked out to meet Serena down stairs. She was still wearing the cloak from yesterday. Serena said, "Tonight I'm going to wash that cloak for you." Heather replied, "Only if you send someone to get it from me." Serena nodded. They began walking to the school.

Heather saw that her life was turning around. She also now knew that she was home and safe. Heather's pain was lifting and the emotions, she thought she would never feel again, were coming back and settling in her heart. Heather was returning to the way she used to be.


	3. Reunion

Heather and Serena arrived at the school. She was stunned by how big the building was. Serena said, "Breath taking isn't?" Heather mumbled, "Huh, Mr. Jay's house is nothing compared to this. And I thought it was big." She didn't realize she had said it loud enough for Serena to hear her. Serena replied, "What was that? And who's Mr. Jay?" Heather covered her mouth and responded, "Forget I said anything. Let's just get this over with." They walked into the school. Serena said in her head, _Who is this girl? Why do I feel like I know her? I know she means well. There are probably secrets better left unsaid, but still this feeling is driving me crazy._

They arrived at the principal's office. Serena knocked on the door. They entered the room and Serena said, "Hi, Professor." The man looked up and replied, "Hello Serena, I was expecting you. This must be the girl you were telling me about." She nodded. Then he turned to Heather and continued, "I'm Professor Sycamore and I'd like to personally welcome you to our school." Heather responded, "Thank you, I'm glad to be here." Serena announced, "Well I'm going to head to class. I'll show you around the school later." Heather nodded and Serena left the room. Professor Sycamore asked, "Can you tell me your name please?" Heather answered, "My name is Heather." She took off her hood and the professor gasped, "You're the girl that disappeared years ago!" Heather stared at him with her emerald green eyes. He cleared his throat and said, "Right on to the matter at hand." Heather signed the forms and he stamped them showing that he approved. Heather was about walk out and put her hood when the professor called, "Heather wait! When are you going to tell Serena who you are?" Heather implied, "I was planning to do it on my birthday which is week from now." Professor Sycamore suggested, "I would actually do it sooner than that." Heather asked, "How come?" He explained, "Because your friends skip school that day. They go down to your house and leave gifts everyday on your birthday. I don't blame them though. I'd honestly do the same thing." Heather was shocked, but at the same time happy that her friends cared as much as to remember her birthday.

Heather thanked the professor and left the room. She put her hood on and looked around to find Serena. She was easy to find due to her honey-blonde hair. Heather saw that Serena was hanging out with her friends. When the girl with red hair saw Heather approaching, she started to freak out a little bit. When the raven-haired boy and Serena saw Heather, Serena said, "Relax I know her." Serena walked up and greeted, "Hey, did you get your forms filled out?" Heather replied, "Yes, I did." Serena responded, "So, when do you start?" Heather confirmed, "I start tomorrow." Serena hugged her out of excitement then she resumed, "By the way, these are my friends from childhood, Ash and Scarlet." Heather said in her mind, _Well what do you know? They're still here too. Guess that leaves a few more people. _Heather contended, "It's nice to meet you both." Ash commented, "You too, but would you mind telling us your name?" Heather answered, "I'd rather not tell you my name yet. And before you ask, I have my reasons why I won't share my name." Ash and Scarlet stared at Heather. They then decided to not push her on the subject.

Then they heard some people approaching. They turned to see a gang of people heading their way. Ash, Scarlet, and Serena became tense. Heather noticed that they had become tense. Heather asked, "What's going on? Who are they?" Serena answered, "That's Gary and his gang. They used to be friends of ours, but they turned on us." Heather was shocked at this information and she questioned, "What happened between you guys?" Ash explained, "We had a friend whose name was Heather. She disappeared a long time ago and we all were heavily effected, but Gary was hit the hardest. We discovered that he had a crush on Heather. We searched for her day and night, but we couldn't find her. Gary gave up and believed that she might have been dead. But we believe that she's still alive and waiting for us." When Serena looked at Heather, she saw that she had a big bright smile. Heather replied, "You have every right to believe that. No one can tell you what to believe and what not to believe."

Gary and his gang came over and stopped in front of them. Gary said, "Hey losers still trying to prove that Heather is still alive? Just face it. If she was still alive, she would've come back on her own years ago." Heather almost said something out loud, but she covered her mouth to keep herself from revealing her identity. Gary and his gang looked at Heather and Gary continued, "Who is this loser? She looks like she came from a funereal." She ignored Gary's rude comment and just refused to say anything. While Gary was demanding her to answer his question, Professor Sycamore telepathically told her that two men were looking for her. He also explained that one of them had a staff. Heather looked in the professor's direction. She saw her captors and she became tense. Then Heather turned to Serena and said, "I have to go." She started walking away, but then Gary yelled, "Hey I'm not done with you yet!" Then one of Gary's gang members tore the hood off her cloak. Then they all became shocked when the saw who was underneath the hood. Heather turned around and looked at them.

Ash said, "Heather?" Everyone couldn't believe that their childhood friend, who had disappeared long ago, was standing right in front of them. Heather saw her captors heading her way. She started to back up. Ash and the others wondered what was going on. Then Heather took off running. Gary called out to her, but then a man asked, "Excuse me kids, but do you all have relations with Heather?" They turned around the face him and his friends. Gary answered, "Yeah, we're her friends." Heather stopped running to see that her captors were talking with her friends. She knew what was going on and her friends' lives were going to be put on the line. She ran back to save her friends before they found out the hard way that they were being tricked. Ash and the others saw Heather running back and this time she was angry. When Heather rejoined her friends, she revealed her hidden powers. She levitated her captors and she said, "Leave them out of this!" She then threw them a few meters away. When they saw her approaching, they tried to run. Then they found themselves chained to the floor. Heather knelt down and took the staff and the set of keys from the leader. He demanded, "Heather release us from the chains." She replied, "So you don't like being chained up?" He responded, "Of course I don't like being chained up! What's your point?" She answered, "Well now you know how it feels!" Her captors were shocked by what she said. Then the leader ordered, "Heather you better give me my staff right now!" Heather contended, "No. You won't need it where you're going. And where you're going is prison!" He gasped, "You wouldn't dare!" She angrily yelled, "I would! It's what you deserve for kidnapping me all those years ago! You also deserve it for abusing me the way you did!" Heather's friends gasped. They now had learned the truth about Heather's disappearance. The professor saw Officer Jenny coming in and had heard Heather's testimony. They arrested them and took them to their vehicles.

Officer Jenny walked up to Heather and said, "You did a great job Heather. We've been looking for these criminals for years. Long before you were kidnapped by them. When you disappeared, we assumed you might have been dead because we found no trace of you. I'm sorry that we didn't think to look for you captors." Heather replied, "Thanks and it's okay. I'm just glad they finally got what they deserve." Officer Jenny responded, "Sometime soon I want you to come to the station and fill my in on what happened to you." Heather agreed and Officer Jenny went back to the station. Heather and her friends went to Serena's house and she explained to them about what had happened to her. When she was finished, Gary asked, "Why didn't you come back to us, Heather?" Heather answered, "I'd tried to escape so many times, but I couldn't. I would be punished severely if I did. The only reason I'm here now is because of Josh. He helped me to escape." Scarlet looked at the staff and was about to pick it up. Heather warned, "Don't touch that!" Everyone saw Scarlet flinch and back away from the staff a little bit. Ash questioned, "Why?! What's wrong Heather?!" Heather explained, "This staff holds dangerous magic. In fact, this staff is part of the reason I couldn't escape to begin with. He said he saved a little girl from these powers, but I don't really believe he did." Serena inquired, "So if the magic is so dangerous, why are you holding the staff?" Heather continued, "Some of the staff's magic was used on me, so I'm able to hold it." Gary added, "By the way, are you planning to wear that cloak the entire time we discuss this?" Heather hesitated, "Huh? Oh.. Right." Heather had told them that her captors put her in chains, but she didn't tell them that they were still on her. She started to take off her cloak. Then it fell to the floor and revealed that Heather was still bound in chains.

Everyone stared shocked at Heather. Gary said, "Heather why didn't you tell us that you were still bound in chains?" Heather explained, "Actually I did. I just didn't directly state it. I never said that the chains were removed. Also why do you think I took the set of keys from them and told them that now they knew how it felt in the first place?" Then they all at once understood. Heather then freed herself from the chains. Scarlet then stood next to Heather and the staff glowed when she came close. Heather saw that the magic inside the staff was reacting to her. Heather turned to Ash and asked, "Hey Ash, did your sister suffer any kind of tragic accident in her past?" Ash answered, "I'm not sure. I do however remember my sister having powers like me and you, but when I got back from summer camp she had lost her powers. My mother might know about it, but every time I ask her she gets so upset that she couldn't talk. So I stopped asking her." Heather then suggested, "Then let's ask her. Because this staff is reacting to your sister and that suggests that she has a connection to it." Everyone agreed to go to Ash's house and talk to Delia.

When they arrived, Delia welcomed them. Delia was especially surprised to see Heather. After she served the children, Heather got down to business. She said, "Delia, would you mind telling me about how Scarlet lost her powers? The reason I'm asking is because this staff glows every time she comes near it." Delia was quiet for a minute, but then she placed her cup of tea down on the table. She explained, "It was a day after Ash left for summer camp, Scarlet was in the living room and I was in the kitchen. But then all of a sudden, I here the door open and Scarlet screaming. I ran in to see what was going on. I saw three men enter the house and one of them was holding that very same staff. I tried to rush over to Scarlet to protect her, but I found myself unable to move. It was like I was incapacitated, but then I saw his staff was glowing. I figured he was making sure that I couldn't help Scarlet. Then he stripped Scarlet of her powers and sealed them in his staff. Scarlet screamed so loud and I thought I was going to burst into tears. Once I was able to move I held Scarlet close and the man told me that he appreciated my help allowing them to acquire the necessary means to complete their mission. They cryptically explained what their mission was and they always said 'She'. I'll never know who they were going after. I was too upset about Scarlet not being able to learn what her powers are." Heather looked down. Her expression was unreadable. She then replied, "Delia, their mission was to kidnap me." Heather retold the story to Delia and she was shocked by this and responded, "I can't believe I didn't make the connection." Heather explained that it was in the past and that they should move forward.

The went outside to watch Heather break the staff. She held the staff upside down behind her. Then she swung her arms forward and she slammed the staff on a rock. The staff shattered and the stored powers inside were released. A red flame rose in the air and turned into a fiery bird. Then it flew straight towards Scarlet. At first, Scarlet's eyes were white and emotionless and her hair was a dull maroon color. Her hair was also very short. Scarlet couldn't even speak for some reason when she was younger. She only made certain sounds to express her emotions, since she couldn't show them with her eyes. When Scarlet looked at the fiery bird, it flew directly into her. Red flames flared around Scarlet and she began changing. Her hair grew longer and it was a bright red color. Her eyes became a scarlet color and full of emotions. Then the flames dissipated and she turned to her friends and family. Ash shocked said, "What just happened?! Why did Scarlet's appearance change?!" Heather explained, "Well when Scarlet lost her powers, she lost a part of herself as well. Her powers became her spirit form. This prevented her from talking or showing her emotions. And one other thing, Scarlet actually knew I was alive the entire time because her spirit form was in the staff." Ash turned to Scarlet and asked, "Is this true?" Scarlet replied, "Yes. I did know that Heather was still alive. I also knew where she was. I only wish I had found a way to tell you this." No one had heard Scarlet speak before, but they were glad she was back to her old self. Heather knew that there would be a challenge though. What villains would face her in her days of freedom. Heather knew she would have to stay sharp in order to make sure her friends were safe.


End file.
